East Lansing, Mich. – He’s from Louisiana.

He’s spent most of his college football career at UNLV, considered a mid-major in college football.

Yet, when senior middle linebacker Jacoby Windmon takes the field on Saturday night in Ann Arbor for Michigan State, he will be fully invested and entrenched in - The Rivalry.

Windmon has even learned how to say the right things to avoid bulletin board material.

“For the most part, I noticed (it was) a pretty big game on our schedule and it was one of those games that you got to circle," Windmon said. "The mindset? (You) kind of just, you know, keep focusing on us, and you block out the noise, block out the distractions (because at) the end of the day it’s gonna be (them) versus we. We got to be the best version of ourselves in order to go out there and put our best foot forward,. I've noticed a lot of talk and things and it's an intense game, and being here you can feel the intensity and the atmosphere (so) it's just, it's just something I look forward to. It was one of the reasons why I chose to come to a school like this to participate in a game like this.”

Windmon, arguably Michigan State’s best defensive player to this point in the season, will start at middle linebacker in his one and only appearance in the Michigan State-Michigan rivalry. He made the move to linebacker from defensive end prior to MSU’s Homecoming win over Wisconsin and made an impact in that new role.

Windmon has an impressive resume through seven games.

He has been named national defensive player of the week twice, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week three times – the only Spartan to achieve such a feat - and he’s done it with standout numbers.

The 6-foot-2, 250-pound native of New Orleans, leads the FBS in forced fumbles with six, is tied for seventh in sacks at 5.5 for 31 yards, and is tied for 12th in tackles for loss with 10.5 for 46 yards.

Windmon lead the Big Ten in forced fumbles and tackles for loss, while ranking second in sacks per game.

A year ago, Windmon watched this game on TV with his UNLV teammates.

“It’s actually crazy, because (for) the game last year, I was sitting there with my teammates at UNLV and we actually sat down and watch the game in our facility. So I knew it was like a rivalry game, but I didn't know how serious it was until I got here. (But) just seeing the title on the TV, Michigan vs. Michigan State, (I knew) it was gonna be a great game,’’ said Windmon, who’s sixth on the team in tackles with 37 stops. “So it was definitely a game I always thought to myself, like, man, I always want to play in one of these type of games. You know, it's one of the games that you would want to play for, that you look forward to. So I'm excited about it.’’

Beyond the excitement, Windmon knows there’s still a football game to be played, a game that will be decided by the performances of the players on the field and not by the hype and excitement surrounding the matchup.

“I think it's really important to start fast, because, I mean, every game you want to start fast, but in this game in particular, you know that's a great team over there, you know, they're well coached and they got good players, but you can't allow yourself to start slow as a defense or offense when you go against good teams. So I say that for the most part, you got to start fast and punch them in the mouth before they try to punch us in ours.’’

If Windmon has his way, he’ll try and do that punching from a couple of positions on the field. Much like he did against Wisconsin, will likely play most of his reps at middle linebacker. On passing downs, however, look for Windmon to play d-end, where he started the season and made a name for himself despite MSU’s losing record.

On Saturday, the Spartans are hoping that Windmon’s versatility will help them pull off one of the biggest upsets in the series, as the teams meet for 115th time. And after watching the history of the series with his teammates, Windmon understands the gravity of a game like this one.

“You gotta be hungry, cause to be counted out, man, it means something, I means you've been underestimated. So that's another reason (that) just adds to our burn. It's not really about the talking, about what you guys, the media is saying. It's really about when we step between those lines and what you gonna do when the pads are popping,’’ Windmon said. “I think this is gonna be a real fun game, because as a linebacker, you've got to love games like this. It gives you a chance to hit. The name of the game is hit, so it's real fun just running around hitting. You feel like, you’re a kid again, you know, playing backyard football, just more organized. (So, the) mentality for me, and I know that’s the mentality for the rest of the defense is just to go hit and have fun with each other while doing it. You can't forget to have fun while doing it, while keeping in mind that this is a rivalry game, so you got to go out there and compete as well.’’